Growing number of ex-B.C. United candidates to run as Independent

B.C. United candidates who weren't picked up by the B.C. Conservatives are considering their political future, and a growing number are deciding to run as Independents. 

"There's a number of Independents running for the first time," said Dan Davies, the B.C. United MLA for Peace River North, who announced Thursday he'll run without a party affiliation. 

"In fact, they're expecting a record number of Independents running, [who] could very well be the power brokers in a legislature that is looking like it might be a minority government."

Davies joins MLAs Tom Shypitka and Mike Bernier, who will also run as Independents.

The B.C. Conservatives tapped three sitting MLAs — Peter Milobar, Trevor Halford and Ian Paton — and four former B.C. United candidates to join its slate. 

WATCH | Former B.C. United MLA Ian Paton on joining the Conservatives:

Ian Paton addresses his previous criticism of B.C. Conservatives as he suits up to run with party

3 months ago

Duration 12:38

The MLA for Delta South is one of a number of B.C. United MLAs now running with the B.C. Conservatives. Paton addressed his earlier rebuke of his current party, and why he chose to run with them.

John Rustad's door is still open for a few more B.C. United crossovers but the vast majority of B.C. United's 57 candidates will either have to run as Independents or end their candidacy.

At least five B.C. United candidates have decided to run as Independent, in addition to two B.C. Conservatives who were dropped from the team include Racheal Weber in Prince George-MacKenzie and Dupinder Saran in Surrey Panorama.

Lumby Mayor Kevin Acton was the B.C. United candidate in Vernon-Lumby. 

He' says he decided to go it alone because of his frustration at seeing B.C. Conservative candidate Dennis Giesbrecht moved into the riding, so the B.C. Conservatives could make way for B.C. United MLA Peter Milobar, who wanted to run in his riding of Kamloops Centre. 

Acton says he's not worried about vote splitting in the riding because he's confident his strong ties to the community give him an edge over Giesbrecht, who he calls a "parachute" candidate. 

"I've been doing this since November," Acton said, referring to his campaign. "They [the B.C. Conservatives] shoot this guy in 46 days before the election and then tell me I'm vote splitting and tell me all this stuff about, 'Independents never win.' I'm not worried about vote splitting."

Giesbrecht says he's embracing the chance to run in the North Okanagan. 

 "I've spent a lot of time in the area," he told CBC News. "It's not that far away. I will be moving there."

Norman Stowe, a longtime B.C. Liberal strategist and former riding association president for Surrey-South, who switched to the Conservatives when Elenore Sturko defected, says Independent candidates could still split the centre-right vote and hand victory to David Eby's NDP. 

"Just do the math. If you think you're going to run as an Independent, you're simply going to split the vote, even if you're popular in your own riding," Stowe said. "When you do something like that, frankly, I think it's a bit selfish." 

Some candidates have said the playing field is not entirely level for Independents.

Who's in and who's out as a candidate for the B.C. Conservatives

3 months ago

Duration 4:00

The B.C. Conservatives are making room for B.C. United candidates following Kevin Falcon's decision to withdraw the party from the provincial election campaign. As Katie DeRosa reports, some party members aren't happy with the moves.

According to Elections B.C., Independent candidates do not receive the $1.81 per vote subsidy given to official political parties. 

Independent candidates also have to receive 10 per cent of the vote in order to be reimbursed for some of their campaign expenses, higher than the five per cent vote threshold for party candidates. 

And Acton has to start from scratch as he's locked out of the approximately $30,000 he raised under B.C. United. Unlike party candidates, Independent candidates are not allowed to raise money until the election is officially declared on Sept. 21, so Acton says his supporters are writing him post-dated cheques. 

Tamara  A. Small, a political science professor from the University of Guelph who has studied independent candidates, says they don't typically do well in general elections.

Vicki Huntington has been the only independent MLA elected to the legislature since 1949. She defeated Wally Oppal in Delta South by 32 votes after a recount in the 2009 election. Huntington was re-elected again in 2013.

However, Small says the circumstances this time are different. 

"So this is a very interesting situation because you will have a bunch of people who are incumbents or have been duly selected as candidates by a party that no longer existed, are now running as Independent. So the normal rules, in my opinion, don't necessarily apply here."

Daybreak South10:30B.C. United MLA Tom Shypitka running as Independent after political shakeup

B.C. United MLA for Kootenay-East, Tom Shypitka explains the challenges he's facing as the fallout continues after his party's decision to drop out of this year's election, and says he plans to run as an Independent.

Former NDP MLA Adam Walker has been sitting as an Independent since he was kicked out of the government caucus last year for misconduct allegations that haven't been made public. 

Walker is encouraging orphaned B.C. United candidates to run as Independents. 

"An Independent MLA is there to represent the community first and not the party," said Walker, who represents Parksville-Qualicum. "So it's very exciting to see folks, like Mike Bernier and Tom Shypitka, people who have years of experience being a leader in their community, recognizing the importance of being Independent and putting their name forward."